The Council of Ministers approved on Friday, January 10, the Royal Decree on the quality standard for the meat, the ham, the shoulder and the loin cane Iberian. The norm tries to improve the information to the consumer in the labeling and presentation, avoiding the confusion regarding denominations.
New mandatory labels for Iberian products
One of the main changes for the consumer is related to the sale name of the products. The new standard highlights the importance of feeding the animals in the quality of Iberian products, especially in those cases in which the animal has been fed acorn-based and its differentiation from those that have been raised in intensive feedlots. For this, the order in the sales denomination has been changed, the feeding mode and the management system that they have received have moved to the first place.
Stricter conditions have also been established in the handling of animals, for which the definitions of the management and feeding systems are reinforced, and they become more easily controllable.
The news
Sales denominations: Sales denominations are simplified. The four previous options — acorn or montanera; of recebo; field bait; and as bait they are now transformed into three:
- De acorn
- De field bait
- De bait
Therefore, the designation “recebo” is eliminated.
Labeled.
The labeling establishes the obligation to indicate the percentage of Iberian breed, in the case of 100% Iberian animals, and in a prominent place in the other cases. The use in advertising and labeling of terms that may be limited is limited. mislead the consumer. Thus, exclusively for the designation “acorn”, the names, logos, images, symbols, or optional mentions that evoke or refer to any aspect related or referred to the acorn or pasture are reserved. In particular “pata negra” can only be used in 100% Iberian acorn products.
Channel identification.
The control systems are also reinforced, establishing more rigor and control in the weights of the carcasses and the pieces and in the minimum production time, improving the reliability in the assignment of the mentions that really correspond to the products, through the incorporation of a different colored seal for each designation, which will be placed on each ham and shoulder, at the slaughterhouse:
- Black, for 100% Iberian acorn
- Red color:, for Iberian acorn
- finanacing, for the Iberian field bait
- White, for the Iberian bait
In relation to the products, a minimum weight is required for the pieces produced when leaving the industry to avoid the commercialization of small products that do not reach the minimum quality standards expected by consumers.
Breeds and breeding
In relation to authorized breeds, the role of the herd book has been strengthened, whose certificates become the only way to prove racial purity, which will help preserve their purity.
With regards to upbringing of pigs in montanera, the norm adapts the livestock load to the productive capacity of the pasture, establishing a number of pigs per hectare of pasture based on the covered wooded area (between 0,25 and 1,25, pigs / ha) . The standard also regulates facilities to which a greater minimum surface is required for the raising of the animals in feedlots (2 square meters minimum for animals of more than 110 kilograms of weight).
Entry into force
The Royal Decree will enter into force the day after its publication for animals slaughtered from this date on. However, a number of transitional periods to allow the sector a gradual adaptation in matters such as race, facilities and products in the process of being made.